Halloween 2023

Tuesday, October 31 is Halloween.

As in the past, students may:
(1) choose to wear costumes to school,
(2) choose instead to wear black and orange,
(3) choose neither of these options.
Some classes may decide to have an in-class Halloween celebration.  We recognize that not all students or families participate in Halloween.

If your child decides to wear a costume, please note the following:

– no cultural appropriation
– no offensive or insensitive costumes
– no inappropriate images
– nothing too scary or gory (we want all students to have fun and not feel scared!)
– no weapons or props
– only costume masks that allow students to still see out properly for safety
– students would need to arrive in their costume, wear it all day, wear it home
– staff won’t be able to assist with putting on or removing student costumes
– students must be able to remove their costume independently to use the washroom
– students must be able to safely play at recess in their costume (or remove it independently for recess)

Cultural Appropriation and Costumes:
Cultural appropriation means taking or borrowing a look or trait from a culture that is not your own. Costumes that are based on people’s culture are offensive, harmful and insensitive.

The following are suggested questions, to reflect on when choosing a costume to avoid being disrespectful or offensive,
• Is my costume making fun of a group of people, their culture, religion and/or belief systems?
• Does my costume reinforce jokes and stereotypes about certain groups, cultures, religions and/or belief systems?
• Am I altering my skin colour, facial/body features to make it like a particular race, ethnicity, or cultural group?
• Am I dressing up as a culture or borrowing from a religion that is not my own or is not part of my background?